Friday, May 31, 2013

The blog hop makes a circle so if you are starting here just continue until you make your way back and you will have made it through them all. If you have already started and are coming fromMelinda Everitt's blog, "If You Bling It...", then you are on the right track.I knew in my head what technique I wanted to use with this stamp set, as well as knowing that I wanted to create a CAS (clean and simple) card, so I used a sketch from "CAS(e) this sketch!" for my design. I essentially stamped my image with black ink in the center of my white daisy card. I then stamped the same image two other times (on separate strips of white daisy cardstock) and colored the flowers using alcohol markers. Next, I used my paper trimmer to cut three different sized squares and then two rectangles to fill in the "spaces", running the edges along the black ink pad and adhering them to the base card with foam tape. Finally, I added two strips of black glitter paper and the sentiment. I'm really pleased at how it turned out. :)

Remember, if you love what you've seen so far along your SOTM Blog Hop journey, and you want your own "A Flowering Bunch" stamp set or want to get it for the amazingly low price of $5, be sure to contact your Close To My Heart Independent Consultant. If you don't already have a consultant, I'd love to be yours. You can find details on the "Stamp of the Month" by clicking on the "Promotions" tab at the top of the page or purchase your SOTM here. Of course, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

If you have time, take a moment or two to check out the rest of my blog. If you enjoy your visit, then please consider "Following Me", signing up to receive blog updates, and/or leaving a comment (we all love comments...the nice ones anyway), then be sure to continue along on the hop by heading over toAdeline Brill'sblog, "Welcome to My Creative Space" and check out her project.

If for some reason you get lost along the way, you can always find a list of all this month's CTMH SOTM Blog Hop participants on Kathleen's blog.

Monday, May 27, 2013

It's a stitching challenge this week at Heart 2 Heart. Do you remember the blood, I mean drama that I had two weeks ago when I tried to sew for the last Heart 2 Heart challenge? Of course, I could have avoided this problem if I had paid attention and looked ahead at the challenges two weeks ago and saved the sewing attempt for this week. ;) However, I'm not one to give up easily, so I scoured the internet to find some "sewing" inspiration. After some searching, I found this tutorial on creating french knots. Since back-in-the-day, I used to cross stitch (I wasn't always terrible with a needle) and played around with a crewel project, I thought this could be a "sewing" technique that even I could handle...and hopefully with minimal blood. lol I also drew inspiration from this week's CASE study and by the photo at Inspired By (shown below).In addition to the french knots that I used for the center of the flowers, I also used the CTMH ruler to first pierce some holes and then hand-stitched the lines with black embroidery floss.

So here's what you need to know to play along with the Heart 2 Heart challenge this week...and every week.

Use mostly CTMH products.

Incorporate the current challenge...stitching (real or faux).

Link your project back to Heart 2 Heart Challenges from your blog post or online gallery. If you are linking from a blog, you must link directly to the actual post, not your entire blog.

You also need to mention Heart 2 Heart in your blog post. (Please don't make us guess.)

Finally, please, please, please, we ask that you consider turning off word verification, as it does make it easier (and less time consuming) for the design team to leave comments, as well as other visitors to your blog. ;)

Don't have any CTMH products? That's an easy fix! Simply contact your local Close To My Heart consultant (or go here to find one near you) or you can place an order by going to my website. If you'd like an Idea Book of your own, you can either email me (if you're local) or simply use the Paypal button in the side bar.Can't wait to see what you come up with.Until next time...

Monday, May 13, 2013

It's a floral challenge this week at Heart 2 Heart. Easy peasy, right? I thought so. Until I tried to use a needle and thread to create textile flowers. Let's just say, one broken needle and several puncture wounds later, that sewing isn't my thing. ;) So after hours of trying...literally hours...something in the range of 6 or 7 hours, I had to change my plans and go with a "no sew" flower. Even though I was highly frustrated, mostly due to the hours spent trying, yet still failing AND the fact, that this challenge should have been an easy one, I'm pleased with the direction the failure took me.I cut a piece of chipboard to 4" x 5 1/4" and wrapped it with one of the patterns in the Close To My Heart For Always textiles. I then cut a strip of the polka dot fabric (also in the For Always textile collection) and frayed the edges, wrapping it around and securing the edges to the back of the chipboard. I mounted the chipboard to the card base with foam tape.Finally, I cut (free-hand) the circles and leaves for the flowers out of the CTMH Chantilly textiles. After cutting out the circles, I intentionally wrinkled them...mostly because I was too lazy to pull out the iron. :) Besides, I thought it gave it a more shabby look.

So here's what you need to know to play along with the Heart 2 Heart challenge this week...and every week.

Use mostly CTMH products.

Incorporate the current challenge...flowers.

Link your project back to Heart 2 Heart Challenges from your blog post or online gallery. If you are linking from a blog, you must link directly to the actual post, not your entire blog.

You also need to mention Heart 2 Heart in your blog post. (Please don't make us guess.)

Finally, please, please, please, we ask that you consider turning off word verification, as it does make it easier (and less time consuming) for the design team to leave comments, as well as other visitors to your blog. ;)

Don't have any CTMH products? That's an easy fix! Simply contact your local Close To My Heart consultant (or go here to find one near you) or you can place an order by going to my website. If you'd like an Idea Book of your own, you can either email me (if you're local) or simply use the Paypal button in the side bar.Can't wait to see what you come up with.Until next time...

Saturday, May 04, 2013

In case you're not a scrapper, or you've been living under a blinged-out rock, today is National Scrapbooking Day! What better way to spend the day than at the Scrapbook Expo in Orlando with a friend? That's where I'll be today. What are you doing for National Scrapbooking Day? Anything special? Catching up on some layouts? Playing along with all the various challenges out there? What about a crop? How about checking out the Heart 2 Heart Challenge Blog today to see some special layout inspiration? Below is my contribution to Heart 2 Heart...the layout that I gave a sneak peak of two weeks ago and promised to share "soon". "Soon" is so relative. ;) By the way, this layout won the layout contest at the weekend retreat I attended. I so love how it turned out!